Process for treating filamentary material



Sept. 30, 1969 P. R. LORD 3,469,333

PROCESS FOR TREATING FILAMENTARY MATERIAL Filed Oct. 26, 19s? United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A process for the treatment of spun filamentary or other material, especially but not exclusively yarn, comprising the steps of drawing-oil the material from a spinning device under tension, which is dependent upon the thickness of the material, and controlling the evenness of the material by varying the speed of draw-off by means sensitive to changes of said tension.

This invention relates to a process and apparatus for the treatment of spun filamentary or other material, especially but not exclusively yarn.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a process and apparatus for the treatment of spun filamentary or other material with a view to obtaining a material of good evenness and few, if any, irregularities.

According to the present invention there is provided a process for the treatment of spun filamentary or other material, especially but not exclusively yarn, comprising the steps of drawing-01f the material from a spinning device under tension, which is dependent upon the thickness of the material, and controlling the evenness of the material by varying the speed of draw-oft by means sensitive to changes of said tension.

The term yarn used herein is to be construed broadly as including cord, twines, ropes and other filamentary materials. The other materials may, if spun, be of any convenient form such, for example, as laminated materials, or may be particulate materials intermixed with suitable resins, bonded together with heat and emerging as a filamentary or other material.

An embodiment of an apparatus for carrying out the process of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, which shows diagrammatically one form of apparatus for improving the evenness of spun yarn.

The present invention is concerned with producing, for example, yarn of good evenness but if there are irregularities in the fibre supply to a prior process, for example the spinning process, then there will be long term irregularities in the evenness of the yarn and it is desirable to control these.

It has been observed that if a yarn is drawn-oil from a spinning device under increased tension then a thick yarn results, and if the yarn is drawn-01f under reduced or decreased tension then a thin yarn results. Also, if the yarn is withdrawn more quickly from the spinning device, a thinner yarn is produced and if it is withdrawn more slowly, a thicker yarn is produced. Thus, it is possible to produce a yarn of good evenness by varying the yarn draw-off speed by means sensitive to changes in the yarn tension.

Patented Sept. 30, 1969 Reference is now made to the accompanying drawing, in which the apparatus comprises a movable guide rod 1 which is spring-loaded as indicated at 2, a pair of conical contiguous rollers 3 and 4, and a package-building device 5 driven by, for example, a motor 6 through a slipping clutch 7.

The spinning device 8 is a break or open-ended spinning apparatus as disclosed in a copending patent application No. 678,234 filed Oct. 26, 1967, but it may be of any convenient construction, conventional or break or open-ended.

The slipping clutch 7 may be replaced by a belt (not shown) or any other convenient device.

The rod 1 may be loaded by dead weight, and may be replaced by any other convenient known guide such, for example, as a roller, pulley or wheel.

The loading of the guide may be pneumatic, hydraulic or other convenient known combination.

The yarn being withdrawn from the spinning device 8 passes around the movable guide 1 and through the nip of the pair of conical rollers 3 and 4 to be wound onto the package-building device 5. The slipping clutch or equivalent 7 is sensitive to yarn tension and ensures a constant yarn tension between the conical rollers 3 and 4 and the package-building device 5.

Any change in the tension in the yarn 9 being withdrawn from the spinning device 8 causes the movable guide 1 to move against the load 2 and to alter the yarn path. A change in the yarn path through the nip of the conical rollers 3 and 4 varies the linear speed at which the yarn 9 is withdrawn from the spinning device 8. The passage of a yarn which is too thick will cause the tension of the yarn leaving the spinning device 8 to rise and this increase in tension is arranged to cause a lateral movement of the yarn toward the larger diametered ends of the conical rollers 3 and 4 so as to cause the withdrawal speed to increase. Damping of any convenient known form may be introduced as necessary. Because tensional forces are quite small, it is usual in textile machinery to provide some damping means where rollers are used to draw yarn. One significant advantage of using such damping means is that hunting of the drive mechanism will be avoided. Thus, damping means for rollers 3 and 4 are indicated diagrammatically at 12 and 14. The yarn 9 leaving the conical rollers 3 and 4 is wound onto the package-building device 5 under constant tension due to the slipping clutch 7 as aforesaid.

Under certain circumstances it may be desirable to depart from the true conical shape of rollers, but for the purposes of explanation herein and the accompanying claims these are termed conical rollers and this term is intended to include any pair of conjugate rollers which are of approximately conical form.

Any other known convenient means for varying and controlling the linear speed of draw-off of the filamentary or other material may be employed.

This variation in draw-off speed may, if desired, be employed to give patterning and produce fancy filamentary or other materials.

What is claimed is:

1. A spinning process for producing a continuous spun material of controlled evenness comprising the steps of drawing-olf spun material under tension from a spinning device, and controlling the speed of drawing-off by means sensitive to changes in thickness of said spun material and thus the tension of said spun material.

The Spinning Process defined in claim 1 wherein the W tension spun material is led from the Spinning d ice" through means for varying the speed of drawing-off, said means for varying the speed of drawing-01f operating on said spun material under the influence of said means sensitive to changes of thickness during the drawing-off.

3. The spinning process defined in claim 2 wherein the spun material is subject to the action of means for varying its path to control the speed of drawing-01f, said change in path being a function of thickness of said spun material.

4. The spinning process defined in claim 1 including the additional step of winding the spun material of controlled evenness onto a package-building device under constant tension.

5. A spinning process as defined in claim 4 which includes the step of adjusting the tension under which the spun material is wound onto the package.

6. A process for producing a spun material of controlled evenness by break-spinning comprising the steps of drawing-01f the spun material under tension from the break-spinning device and controlling the speed of drawing-olf by means sensitive to changes of thickness and thereby the tension of said spun m a terial during the drawing-0E.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS MERVIN STEINQPrimaryEiiani'iner V W. H. SCHROEDER, AssistantExaminer us. 01. X.R.' 

